Well, after much anticipation, we finally shoved off yesterday just after high tide (2:00 p.m.) en route to Fort Pierce, FL–our only planned stop in the U.S. It was an emotional day for me as I reflected on how hard we’ve been working to get to this point. Unlike Dallas, I really didn’t have a clue what we were getting into when we arrived at Amelia Island Yacht Basin back in October. The learning curve for an academic raised in the suburbs with hardly any mechanical knowledge (much less sailing experience) is pretty steep to say the least, but I’m pretty happy with my progress, painstaking as it has been at times.
 
Finally setting off!

Finally setting off!

Pura Vida's Christening

Pura Vida's Christening

We made some friends at the yacht basin and have to thank Phil and Patty for sending us off with a bottle of champagne, which Tiffany used to christen the boat just before we set off. It was thrilling to be leaving the muddy water of the marina at last, but for me, this was coupled with thoughts about family. I couldn’t help but get a little tearful as I spoke to both of my parents. We were also concerned about Dallas and Wes’ dad who was having heart surgery today. Fortunately, we were close enough to land to receive a message letting us know that it had gone well. It also helped that we will be seeing family in a couple of weeks in Cancun.

I was very curious to see how I was going to feel at sea after learning that we were going to get some weather, but so far, so good. Both Tiffany and I felt a little nauseous when we spent time down below but seemed to be OK in the cockpit. Of course we only experienced 2-3 foot swells…not much of a test.

So for our first night at sea, Dallas and Wes split 4-hour watches, with Tiffany and I providing assistance. Wes and Tiff’s first watch was pretty grueling; they had 3 separate rain squalls with several 360o wind changes. Our watch was the polar opposite—no rain and a steady 5-10 knots from behind that left us running at only 2 or so knots since we didn’t have our spinnaker up. There’s not much to do in these conditions, so I slept quite a bit. (That explains why I have the energy to write our first blog at sea.) The wind picked up again when Wes was back the helm, and he and Tiff had a good two and a half hour run before sunrise.

This morning has been beautiful thus far. Dallas and I are encircled by white puffy clouds and blue skies. We hoping to continue running throughout the day and are currently enjoying over fifteen knots of wind on the aft quarter. As soon as I woke up, Dallas pointed out two dolphins playing in our bow. One of them torpedoed over to the boat at an angle so that it could get a good look at us. It later showed off with a back-flip! Besides our ocean-dwelling friends, Dallas and I have only seen one boat and one ship. We are enjoying the solitude.

Raising the Mainsail

Raising the Mainsail